Sunrise – thrilled to see CLOUDS

Once again we got away early. The first 12 miles we were on I-84. Traffic was mild and the shoulder was wide. We played hide and seek with the wind – much of the time it was blocked by the ridges coming down to the water, but every once in a while we would be exposed. Even then, not nearly as bad as two days ago.
Then we ran into a bike detour. Because of road construction blocking the shoulder, we were diverted onto a four mile back road with a nasty climb. Back to granny! Scott did have a close encounter with a deer on the steep downhill, though. It leaped across the road just in front of him. That could have been nasty if the deer had hesitated a second longer!

Starting up the climb on the detour route

Next we had a few more miles of back roads, flatter this time, leading into the small community of Cascade Locks. Taking a break, we discussed our plan to cross over here to the WA side to ride on 14. We decided that 84 had really been easy so far, much flatter than 14, and the wide shoulder kept us so far from the traffic that we hardly noticed it. Therefore we would stay on 84 all the way to Portland.
We hoped to pull off at Multnomah Falls to catch some breakfast, but when we got there we discovered that the exit was on the LEFT side of the freeway! We were not about to try and cross two lanes of high speed traffic, so we just rode on.
Nothing much was memorable about this part of the ride, except it was easy. We had lost the wind back at Cascade Locks, so it was full speed ahead.
Finally we hit civilization in the form of Troutdale, the farthest out suburb of Portland. Scott had spotted the Edgefield McMenamins on the map, so we headed there for lunch and fortification. I had wanted to visit that location for years. I believe they have both a winery and distillery there along with the brewery. Of course I had to buy a bottle of their whiskey to take home.
With fifteen miles to go, we finally pried ourselves out of our booth and got back on the road. However, our beer did not want to stay with us and we found ourselves keeping an eye out for bathroom options. At one point a construction site porta-potty met our needs.
Google maps did an admirable job of guiding us through town to the house of Corey’s daughter. The route brought back memories of coming into Portland on more than one STP ride. She and her husband are celebrating their 10th anniversary, which was the reason Corey had come up with this trip and these dates in the first place. They had a very nice home and an incredible backyard transformed into farm. There were all kinds of fruit trees, berries, and other edibles growing out there.

Relaxing in the backyard – AHHH…

Unfortunately I had to head out for the train station before dinner was served. And she had prepared a wonderful smelling curry, one of my favorites!
I am on the train now, hoping we get in on time (11 pm), as I am very much looking forward to seeing Tami and Keenan again, not to mention sleeping in my own bed.